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The origin of lottery (lotto) dates back to 1530, Italy. "La Lotto de Firenza" was actually a very similar game to its modern version. Throughout lotto history Tickets were bought by citizens, and prizes were allocated according to a percentage of the money taken. The state then used it's share for building schools or repairing roads. The game rapidly spread across Europe, due to its popularity.

When immigrants made their way from Europe to America they took some of the lottery fun with them, and games soon started in the new countries. King James I of England actually created a lottery in London to aid Jamestwon, Virginia - the first British colony in America.

Throughout lotto history, lotteries have played an important role in American history. From 1612 to 1621, a lottery at Jamestown provided colonists with about 8,000 pounds a year, which helped them pay for access for many of the new immigrants. In the 1790s, a lottery financed state and private in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. For another century, lottery supported road construction, bridges, railroads, and schools. Lotteries helped the society.

These were legal games, of course, while illegal lotteries had another character. Corruption in private run lotteries became extensive, and Governments were unable to control them effectively. New York was first in the 1820s, but by 1878 all US states except Louisiana had prohibited lotteries. Louisiana survived until 1905 when the US Supreme Court reinforced police powers to regulate gambling.

At 1964 New Hampshire created the first state lottery, in lotto history, tied to horse races to avoid the anti-lottery laws! It was followed by New York 3 years later, and from there it followed by virtually every US state and most countries in Europe and indeed across the world now running their own lottery.

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